British coffee drinkers throw billions of cups away annually. Now experts say these waste products will only decompose after 30 years.

Scientists have warned that zero out of five billion paper cups discarded every year are recycled. The plastic lining material in these cups is non-removable, thus making recycling of the bulk portion impossible.

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Imperial College professor of materials resources engineering, Chris Cheeseman, said that it would take 30 years before the plastic degrades. He added that even though paper can be decomposed in a matter of two years, it could lead to more serious adverse environmental effects due to its cellulose fiber.

Cheeseman noted that the polyethylene material does not degrade and that paper cups "could take 18 months to two years to start to break down and then it produces methane gas which is probably not collected."

Recycling of this type of cups is not accomplished because of laws concerning health and safety making the British Coffee Industry consume an average of 100,000 trees a year.

To address this problem, some establishments are offering incentives to reduce waste. For instance, American coffee house chain Starbucks gives a 50 percent discount to consumers who have their own cups during store visits.

The Liberal Democrats have called for a 5 percent tax on coffee cups to reduce its usage. The plastic bag tax enforced this year resulted in a dramatic decline in its use.

The problem of paper cups usage was only emphasized after the airing of BBC program "War on Waste" by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.